RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Israeli Civil Administration raided the Khan al-Ahmar Bedouin village, east of Jerusalem in the central occupied West Bank, on Monday in preparation to demolish the village which would displace more than 35 Palestinian families, as part of an Israeli plan to expand the nearby Kfar Adummim settlement.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday that "the uprooting act committed by the occupation authorities aims at unexpectedly horrifying the residents of the community in a tragic end to their long misery due to the continuous restrictions and collective punishment imposed by the occupation forces on Khan al-Ahmar residents for decades."

The Israeli High Court had rejected Khan al-Ahmar's residents petition against the order to expel them.

The Ministry also strongly condemned "the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by the occupation authorities in the designated areas (C) and in the occupied city of Jerusalem and its environs."

In its statement, the Ministry also holds the Israeli government entirely responsibly for the "crime," pointing out that it comes under "the Israeli plan of Judaization in the eastern area of occupied Jerusalem and the area of Jordan Valley, through the creation of a network of large settlement streets towards occupied Jerusalem, to eliminated the possibility of geographical communication between parts of the occupied West Bank, and ultimately alter the establishment of a Palestinian state geographically interconnected with Jerusalem as its capital."

The Ministry said that it continues its follow-up on the issue of the Khan al-Ahmar with the countries and international institutions concerned, foremost of which is the International Criminal Court (ICC), and international reactions condemning the "crime" and demanding the Israeli authorities to immediately reverse its "unjust arbitrary decision."

The Ministry added that "the Israeli government reaffirms its continuous rebellion against international law, international legitimacy and its resolutions, and the calls of the international community, and disparages them all, by protecting and supporting the United States Administration and its biased and supportive policies and decisions to the occupation and its racist actions and measures."

In 2017, Israel had called on its High Court to forcibly demolish the entire community and transfer its residents to the Abu Dis village east of Jerusalem.

Khan al-Ahmar is one of 46 Palestinian Bedouin villages comprising of a population of 7,000 -- 70 percent of whom are Palestinian refugees -- in the central West Bank that are considered by the UN as being at risk of forcible transfer by Israeli authorities to alternative sites.